"Avril has been declared dead"
Those words reverberated in my ear over and over until I spaced out, every type of feeling took momentary exit.
“Toby, help me,” she said, crawling toward me on the bed. “Help me forget this pain I feel. It’s killing me.”
She crushed her lips to mine, desperate, trembling. Maybe it was the alcohol, or simply the numbness that had settled into me after she told me Avril was dead, but I let her. I let my body think for me. It wasn’t sensual...it was raw, desperate, and urgent.
I never saw Jean as anything but Avril’s best friend, but that night blurred every line. What happened after felt like drowning heat, confusion, regret and when it was over, I felt hollow, ashamed..
We slept together a few more times that week, and I felt worse after every time. Bu
